Environment

Brunet-García Advertising and their 2012 re:solve℠ grant recipients participated in a tree-planting event hosted by Greenscape of Jacksonville in Boone Park on Saturday, March 3. Fifty-nine trees were added to the Riverside park landscape.

Recreational and commercial blue crab harvesters in the St. Johns River system must remove their blue crab traps from the water before Jan. 16, the first day of a 10-day trap closure. This closure will give groups authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to gather traps the opportunity to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from the water.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper organization is pleased to welcome aboard Lisa Rowe Rinaman, former City of Jacksonville Policy Director, as the next St. Johns Riverkeeper, the chief advocate and public voice for the St. Johns River. Rinaman will assume the role in February from Neil Armingeon who previously announced his intent to retire at the end of January.

"The St. Johns River plays a critical role in our region's quality of life and our economy. To ensure that this great natural resource is protected for generations to come, we must build on St. Johns Riverkeeper’s past accomplishments and continue our campaign for a clean and healthy river," said Rinaman. "For years, my passion has been working to identify opportunities to advance legislative and policy initiatives that protect the environment and our waterways. I am honored to once again have the chance to combine my advocation with my vocation for the betterment of the St. Johns River."

A dip in temperature can lead to a rise in your electric bill because of the direct correlation between weather and energy consumption. JEA recommends the following tips to keep energy use in check during cold weather.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Peggy Munsey and her dog Gunner head out for their morning run each day, and every time, there's a pesky disruption.

"Yeah, they're very bad in this area," said Munsey.

The mosquitoes around her Clifton Road neighborhood in Jacksonville are unbearable and her neighbors agree it's the worst they've seen.

Jacksonville's Mosquito Control is tracking increasing calls for service on maps. In May, there were about 300 calls for service. In June, that number doubled, and already in July, calls for service have exceeded 600.

"It's very irritating. I was just talking to a neighbor yesterday and said, can you call the mosquito people because I've already called them twice," said Munsey.

Richard Smith, mosquito control superintendent, said he thinks the number of service requests will top 5,000. "That's a lot of service requests," he said.